FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — When Atlanta Falcons safety DeMarcco Hellams slipped on his jersey for the first time in 2025, he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.
His grin grew even wider as he pulled on his helmet, snapped in the chinstrap and took the practice field.
"Almost felt like 23 was a new number again," Hellams said.
Don't be fooled. Hellams' personal joy doesn't guarantee others kindness. Quite the opposite, actually.
"We call him, 'Bamm-Bamm,'" Falcons safety Jessie Bates III said. "He's not a happy guy right now. He's always moving with bad intentions of wanting to go hit somebody. And you need that on the football team."
Hellams has been craving contact since last year's preseason opener, when he got injured on the Falcons' second defensive snap and was carted off to the locker room. Hellams did not return to the game, and the Falcons lost to the Miami Dolphins.
Three days later, on Aug. 12, 2024, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said Hellams would miss significant time due to an ankle injury. The hope was that Hellams would return at some point in the fall.
He did not.
"I definitely didn't expect to miss the whole year," Hellams said.
Hellams fractured his left ankle and sustained a high-ankle sprain. He underwent not the first but the most intensive surgery of his career.
As the Falcons went 8-9 last season, Hellams remained sidelined, rehabbing the joint back to the full health.
"I put my faith in God as far as having the attitude that this did happen to me, like it's something that I can't take back," Hellams said. "So, I tried to rewire my brain from feeling back for me to kind of starting to feel like it was for me.
"That's hard. That's hard to do, for sure, to feel like a setback is a part of your process. Because I felt like I had big things going for me last year leading up to my injury."
Momentum was on Hellams' side. It had been building since he arrived in Atlanta.
The Falcons drafted Hellams in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft from the University of Alabama. He played in all but two games as a rookie, first earning reps on special teams and then building his defensive snap count. He started four of the final six games across Bates.
Overall, Hellams made 40 tackles, 25 of which were solo. He also registered a quarterback hit and a tackle for loss.
When Hellams returned for his second season, expectations were built off the latter half of that prior. Hellams was meeting those expectations — until his injury.
"It hurts my heart to this day," Bates said. "But to watch how he worked and the way that he responded to it, that's what men do. He's a true professional."
Hellams remained an active participant inside the facility.
"I commend him," Falcons secondary coach Justin Hood said. "I've been around a lot of guys who have been on IR for the year, been away from the game for a year, and are not necessarily engaged when they know they're not playing. 'Marcco was a guy that was still stopping meetings and asking questions because he wanted to understand."
Becoming a student of the game last year has helped him quickly grasp the schemes and concepts being implemented this year by the Falcons' new defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich. Hellams therefore isn't behind mentally. He only needs to prove he's back physically.
Already, eight open practices into training camp, Hellams has reinserted himself into conversations surrounding Bates' starting partner. There's a lot of competition for that secondary spot. The Falcons signed veteran Jordan Fuller as a free agent and selected rookie Xavier Watts in the draft. All three have been taking turns with the first-team defense.
Hellams, so far, is the only one who has snagged an interception. During Tuesday's indoor practice, he picked off quarterback Michael Penix Jr.'s red-zone pass intended for running back Bijan Robinson.
"It was a heck of a play," Hood said. "When you watch it, you see that it's in his body. You see that he has the potential to be a really good player. His growth. His development. It's just continuing to increase."
The Falcons had a team scrimmage Wednesday that emphasized starters. Hellams was among them at times. And while the majority may not play in Friday's preseason opener against the Detroit Lions inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, there's a chance Hellams will.
If anything, the exhibition game will give Hellams the opportunity to unleash his pent-up aggression on opposing players for the first time in a year.
"When we put on pads," Bates said, "you'll know DeMarcco Hellams is out there."
And why is that? Well, it goes back to his nickname.
The reason Hellams has been dubbed "Bamm-Bamm" is because of his innate desire to hit people. And just like the kid with a club in "The Flintstones," Hellams' strength can sometimes be misplaced, such as against his own teammates.
Morris will never forget the scare Hellams caused during the Falcons' open training camp practice at the stadium last year. Quarterback Kirk Cousins threw wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III a short pass up the middle, where Hellams fully charged and hit McCloud as soon as his hands touched the ball. There was an audible oof from the crowd.
"You're never worried about him being physical at the point of attack," Morris said. "You've always got to worry about him in practice, but he's gotten so much better."
While there haven't been any scares this year, Hellams' presence has still been felt, whether that be when going after a pass or for a tackle. It's a big reason his name is being considered once again for a starting role.
Hood loves Hellams' intensity. As a coach, he'd rather have to hold a player back than hype him up. There's never any concern with Hellams, who he called the epitome of the secondary's "Crash-Out Crew" mantra. That means he's a gritty, aggressive ball hawk.
"Who he is as a player is who he is as a person," Hood said. "He attacks everything that he does. … He is a player and a person, more importantly, that is going to try his absolute hardest to do it the right way and strain to give you everything he's got."
In Hellams' mind, there's no other option. He had to fully recover from his injury last year. He has to make the 53-man roster this year.
The 25-year-old can't bear the thought of hanging up his jersey and helmet for another season.
"I've been playing football since I was 5 years old," Hellams said. "I really don't feel myself when I'm not playing football."
